How capacity commitments work
Snowflake bills compute in credits consumed by virtual warehouses while they run. Most enterprises sign a capacity commitment, prepaying for credits over a term at lower rates than on-demand. The price of each credit depends on edition and region: Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical and Virtual Private Snowflake are priced progressively higher.
What drives consumption
- Warehouses
Size and runtime
Larger warehouses consume more credits, and they bill while they run.
- Edition
The price of every credit
A higher edition raises the cost of all compute, not only the workloads that need it.
- AI
A separate meter
Much of Snowflake's AI now bills in AI Credits, outside the standard credit pool.
- Storage
Data stored and moved
Storage and data transfer are billed separately from compute.
Where Deal IQ comes in
This guide explains how the pricing works. What your contract should cost is settled in the negotiation. Deal IQ has run 60+ Snowflake negotiations covering $150M+ in contract value, with a network of 350+ former vendor sales, pricing and deal desk leaders that includes people who sold for Snowflake. We negotiate directly with Snowflake or behind the scenes with your team, and our fee comes from the savings.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a Snowflake capacity commitment?
A prepaid purchase of Snowflake credits over a term, at lower rates than on-demand.
What happens if we use fewer Snowflake credits than we committed?
The commitment is still owed. How unused capacity is treated depends on the contract.
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